Coming Together
by nelliel3
Summary: Little one-shot about Percy and Annabeth meeting again for the first time. Enjoy! Do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or the characters.


I waited, at the gates of Camp Jupiter. To my right was Gwen. Frank and Hazel were flanking either side of me, and everyone was searching the sky for the flying ship that he had promised them would come.

Me, I didn't care so much about the fact that there was a giant warship heading toward this place.

Nope, not so much.

I knew that this ship was friendly. The growing strength of the empathy link in the back of my mind was evidence of that. Grover was coming, and with Grover, came friends.

And one very special friend.

More like girlfriend.

It was so good to say that.

Annabeth was coming. And that thrilled me to no end.

But first, he was going to have to serve his duty as a leader of this camp.

He was going to make sure the intrusion was friendly before he found her.

And if they weren't friendly, if they had given him false hope of seeing Annabeth again…he was going to slaughter each and every one of them.

But he knew the incoming ship was friendly. He was not concerned about this.

However, seeing Annabeth again…now that was nerve-wracking.

Finally, the ship came into view. A plank was thrown down, so the passengers could come off-deck.

Two people appeared first. Gwen and I nodded to each other and started walking forward to meet them.

As we got closer, I could tell that they were both male, one being tall and blonde. The other was a big, burly guy who looked as if he had been working in the engine room for his entire life.

I had never met either of these people. I grew slightly suspicious. Gwen on the other hand, quickened her pace. I struggled to keep step with her.

We met at the bottom of their plank. Gwen looked slightly out of breath.

"Jason…" she breathed. Sudden understanding washed over me. No wonder I hadn't ever seen him.

The blonde haired boy looked at Gwen with warm, kind eyes, and then turned to me. His gaze grew considerably colder.

It only made sense I supposed. I was, after all, wearing the very clothing that signified that I had taken his spot in his camp. It was only natural that he would be a bit territorial about that.

It was then that I noticed the stillness of everyone around me. Every single Roman was tensed and waiting for the battle to commence if necessary. Every single one of them was just waiting for the cue. I began to seriously doubt whether or not they were even breathing.

Everything depended on this moment. The agreement of the two camps. The saving of the world.

My ability to see Annabeth again.

I held out my hand to him and locked his gaze. Jason barely reacted.

"Percy." I said. It was a blunt introduction, but it would do.

Jason seemed to relax a little at this. He gripped my forearm. "I know."

The crowd behind us erupted into cheers. My gaze unconsciously shifted to the boat deck, hoping to see a familiar blonde head come up to the ramp.

Jason noticed this and, grinning, stepped aside enough for me to pass. I nodded my thanks and started up the ramp. However I didn't get far. Annabeth came sprinting down the ramp, a determined glow set in her gray eyes.

When she saw me, her knees locked up like a startled colts. Her jaw dropped a little and I grinned at her in encouragement.

Suddenly anger flashed in her eyes and she sprinted up to me. She slammed into me so hard that I took a few steps back. Jason, Gwen and the other boy had already moved away luckily, but it meant I was forced back on land.

She was _punching_ me. Hard. It looked like the dam had broken and all her anger and frustrations that had been pent up since Christmas were coming out now.

So yeah, she was pissed.

She was also shouting cuss words at the top of her lungs in ancient Greek. Fantastic. Well, at least she wouldn't sully the younger Roman's ears. They couldn't understand her.

The first punch she got in knocked me back a few steps. After that I started to block.

I tried reasoning with her. "Ugh-Annabeth!" My voice came out a little whiny but it did the trick. She stopped moving for a split second, which was enough time for me to step up to her and wrap my arms around her. It was then that I noticed how badly she was shaking.

She was sobbing now, and had continued to punch me, but they were so weak that I didn't even feel it at first. Unintelligible moans were escaping her mouth. Apparently she was beyond words.

It was a little awkward at first. I, (being, well, _me_) suck at the whole comfort thing. Annabeth just didn't need comforting like this very often. I made shushing noises and rubbed her back. She was still punching me, but they were growing feebler every time. Annabeth was so inconsolable that I doubt any of my attempts at comfort were actually getting through to her.

Finally, gasping between sobs, she managed to choke out what sounded like "Where were you Seaweed Brain?"

It pained me to hear her so upset. "Hera put me to sleep for six months."

Annabeth flinched, "And the other two?"

"I was training with wolves." I answered honestly.

"When did you get your memory back?" She had stopped punching me now. Instead her arms seemed to be intending to wrap themselves as firmly as they could get around my waist. She didn't want to let go.

Her body was still shaking. I rubbed her back until she ceased her sobs.

"Yesterday."

She buried her face deeper in my chest and twisted her hands into the fabric of his robes.

"Why does it look like some of the people are injured?" Annabeth asked. I hadn't realized she was coherent enough to take in her surroundings.

"We had a battle here a couple days ago."

"Oh." Her voice sounded very small. At least it was stable. "Was it bad?"

I shrugged a little. "It could have been worse."

I thought I could hear the smile in her voice this time, "Were you a hero again Percy?"

This time I grinned, "You know it."

If it was possible, Annabeth wriggled herself deeper into my arms. She was still shaking, silent sobs wracking her body, but it was growing less and less. Finally, she seemed to calm down enough to have a complete conversation without breaking down.

Her stormy gray eyes were red and puffy and tear tracks stained her cheeks. Judging from the bruise-like bags under her eyes, she hadn't had a good night's sleep in months. Her blonde hair was tangled and matted, but pulled back lazily with a blue bandana. She looked terrible.

And I don't think she's ever looked more beautiful.

A gave her a quick grin and kissed her forehead. She leaned on me a little more, and we just sat like that for what seemed like hours, enjoying each other's presence.

A familiar cry of "Perrrrrrrcy!" interrupted the moment. Neither of us minded much. Annabeth was better now. I was just happy to have her next to me.

As we broke apart, we laced our fingers together. Now that we had found each other again, we weren't about to let anything else break us apart.

I grinned at the Satyr that came hurtling toward me. "Hey Grover!" I shouted.

Annabeth and I walked forward to meet him, hand in hand. I was never letting go again.

**a/n This ended up being much fluffier than intended. Oh well. It's also really out of character, but again, I don't care. This has been running around in my head ever since I read the Son of Neptune. I figured it was time to put pen to paper and start writing.**

**R and R!**


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